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megalith
(redirected from megalithic structure)

   Also found in: Dictionary/thesaurus, Hutchinson 0.07 sec.

megalith

Huge, often undressed stone used in various types of Neolithic and Early Bronze Age monuments. The most ancient form of megalithic construction is probably the dolmen, a type of burial chamber consisting of several upright supports and a flat roofing slab. Another form is the menhir, a simple upright stone usually placed with others to form a circle, as at Stonehenge and Avebury in England, or a straight alignment, as at Carnac in France. The meaning of megalithic monuments remains largely unknown, but all share certain architectural and technical features suggesting that their creators sought to impose a conspicuously human design on the landscape and imbue it with cultural symbols. See also rock art.


megalith
a stone of great size, esp one forming part of a prehistoric monument


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With images ranging from megalithic structures to block reliefs, crumbled city walls, petroglyphs and so much more, each two-page spread features a revealing photograph on the right, accompanied by a brief text description of the stone's origin on the left.
the oldest megalithic structure known for certain to have an astronomical function," Ray reports in the Jan.
 
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